Stay Gold
by smileyface842
Summary: Ponyboy is still recovering from the death of Johnny and Dally, but can he take it when something happens to Two-Bit? Chapter 7 is here!
1. Chapter 1

_Hello people of Earth. This is my first fanfiction. The Outsiders is my favorite movie AND book. Soo.... Yeah. I hope you like it! Please review!_

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CHAPTER ONE

"Hey kid, watch out," Two-Bit warned. I was looking at the ground, and had almost ran into a metal pole. I looked up, stopping just an inch before I would have been knocked out, and muttered the word, "Thanks."

We were walking to the convenience store up the road. It was dark, but it sure wasn't night.

I had woken up at five in the morning and walked to my living room to see Two-Bit sitting on the couch, watching television.

We were both bored to tears, so we decided to stock up on food. Two-Bit basically lived with me, so I didn't mind. He'd probably just end up stealing something, anyway.

"So Pony, what have you been up to?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing much, still getting over…" I paused. "you know."

Two members of our gang, Johnny and Dally, had recently died, a little over two months ago. I hadn't ever really liked Dally to much, but Johnny was my best friend, besides Sodapop, my older brother. It all hurt just the same.

We arrived at the store, and a attempted pulling the door open. It was locked. I glanced through the glass wall. All the lights were off. Two-Bit read a sign. "Closed," he muttered quietly.

I read my old, beat up watch. _Still 5:30, _I thought. The store didn't open till 6:00.

I sat down on the ground.

Two-Bit finally responded, "You've taken it pretty hard, haven't you?"

I nodded.

I wanted to cry, but you just don't cry around Two-Bit. It was just to awkward.

"Hmm, I suppose I have too."

"Really? It hasn't seemed like you have," I lied. Two-Bit hadn't been his normal, talkative, self.

He just shrugged. Apparently he wanted to talk about it just as much as I did.

It became awkwardly silent. A breeze came through, and I shivered. I had forgotten my jacket, _again._

I stared at my watch, wishing time would pass faster. Fifteen more minutes till an employee would come and unlock.

Two-Bit sighed heavily.

"I'm bored, lets go walk around here till it opens."

I just nodded. I was pretty quiet.

Two-Bit and I stood, and we picked a random direction.

I was getting colder and colder. I decided to challenge Two-Bit to a race. I was on the track team at school, and running would make me warmer.

"Race you to the stoplight," I challenged.

"You're on!"

We lined up at the nearest parking space, and I shouted, "Ready, set, go!"

I bolted as fast as I could, Two-Bit trailing behind me. I steadied my pace and slowed a bit. I could run circles around him, any day. I finally reached the light, and caught my breath as Two-Bit caught up.

He gave me a scowl and I just smirked. I was warmer now, and I saw a car pulling to the convenience store.

"Come on," I said, and started walking.

We finally reached the store and walked in. I just walked by the cashier without giving him a glance, while Two-Bit smirked as his eyes gleamed at something in the back of the store.

He shrugged as he felt his pockets and walked back. I strolled to the chips, we were short on them.

I picked up some regular potato chips, and went on looking for things in the store I might need.

I went to the right side of the store, which is where they hold the books. I looked at the selection, but there was nothing I haven't read before.

I couldn't think of anything else we needed,-besides eggs, but this place didn't have any- and walked back to Two-Bit.

He casually whistled and picked up hat. He yanked off all the tags and placed it on his head, as if he had walked in with it on. I gave and odd stare, then just left for the check-out counter.

I put my bag of chips and placed a few coins on the counter. The cashier gave Two-Bit a suspicious look. I held my breath, but, to my relief, he just smiled at me and said, "Have a nice day." I nodded and followed Two-Bit out.

Once we got out of view and earshot, he started laughing wildly. All I could do was grin.

"Man, that guy was clueless!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, pretty dumb," I smiled.

He laughed some more and I just stood there, rocking on my heels. After you know Two-Bit for as long I have, you find that if you laugh every time he does, you'll get a sore throat.

When he was finally done laughing, we started home. The sun had just started to peek out from the hill, and it was beautiful. I could just barely glance at it though, it would have been too embarrassing if Two-Bit had noticed.

We were a while away from my house, but we walked _way _more than this regularly. It kept us fit.

I glanced back at Two-Bit and said, "I'm going to jog the rest of the way home."

"Kay."

I eventually got far ahead of Two-Bit, and I could enjoy the nice, fresh air. It had warmed up a bit. The only thing bothering me was the loud noise the bag was making shaking in my hand. I had very sensitive hearing, and I hated it.

After another 10 minutes of jogging, I had almost reached my house. I could see it just up ahead. I climbed up the two steps and opened the gate, then up the steps into my unlocked house. It was never locked.

Soda was sitting on the couch talking to Steve -his best friend- and Darry -my other older brother- sitting at the table reading the Sunday Newspaper. "Hey, you were up early, usually we have to drag you out of bed!" Sodapop greeted me. It was still 6:45. Darry barely looked up from his newspaper and said, "Hi." I held up the chips, "We didn't have any, Two-Bit's on his way."

"Sweet! Throw 'em here!" Steve exclaimed.

I threw them and Steve ripped them open.

"Now don't eat all of them," Darry said, still staring at his paper. He was in one of his moods today.

I just plopped down on the couch and sighed. I was tired, from all the jogging.

In just 30 seconds, there were chips all over the floor, and Soda and Steve were wrestling. Darry got up and left the room. He knew when he was about to burst, and it wasn't good.

Steve was playfully punching Soda in his stomach, while Soda just laughed and laughed. I just sat there, staring at the ceiling. I did this a lot, if I didn't have my nose stuck in a book. Don't ask me why.

By now, there were chips crumpled up all over the floor.

"Gee, thanks guys. That was my last 50 cents!"

They just ignored me. I sighed and wondered where Two-Bit was.

I stood and peered out the door. No sign of him. I called out.

"Two-Bit, you there?"

No answer. I looked at Steve and Sodapop.

"Guys."

They ignored me.

"Guys!"

The two suddenly stopped and simultaneously said, "Yes?"

"I don't know where Two-Bit went. Come with me to look for him."

They nodded.

"Ok…." Steve said.

Sodapop suddenly yelled, "Darry, we're going out. Be back in a minute!"

Without waiting for a response, we stepped out of the house and down the street.

"Two-Bit? Where are you?" I shouted.

The next five minutes were filled with loud calls to Two-Bit.

Finally I found a sign of him. The hat he had stolen at the store. That either meant he never wanted the hat in the first place, or he was in trouble.

Guess.

Suddenly I heard a loud groan and my mind raced back to when we had found Johnny lying in the lot, after he gotten beat up by some Socs.

I remembered seeing his face completely swollen, and the tears running down his face. I tried to shake the thoughts away by looking at Two-Bit.

I screamed, "Oh my God! Two-Bit!" and ran to his side.

"Ponyboy?" he groaned.

"Yeah," I said. "It's me. What happened to you Two-Bit?"

His face was streaming with blood, and he had cuts all over him. I expected him to cry, but strangely he didn't. I could sure tell he wanted to, though.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders, and unfotunately, never will._

_Here is chapter 2! Thanks to all my reviewers! I really needed the support. _

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CHAPTER TWO

I stared in horror at Two-Bit. Sodapop and Steve were kneeling there, with the exact same looks on there faces. Before I could say anything, Steve whispered quietly, "I-I-I'll go get Darry…"

Soda nodded as he ran off.

I repeated myself, "Two-Bit, what happened to you?!" He closed his eyes and sighed, "The S-S-S-Socs." I could tell he was having trouble talking.

Two-Bits eyes opened and struggled, "They just came up to me in that stupid blue Mustang."

He closed his eyes again. I noticed his face was swelling majorly.

"Wish I still had that that switchblade."

Steve and Darry came sprinting back.

Darry almost fell over when he saw Two-Bit. I had never seen that look in his eyes. Not even when Johnny had gotten beat up.

I noticed that Two-Bit's leg was gushing blood. Without thinking, a ripped off my t-shirt and wrapped it around his leg.

Two-Bit flinched. "Sorry…" I muttered. Two-Bit began to shout curses as loud as he could, which wasn't very loud. He stopped cussing for a moment and but his hand on his arm. "I… I think it's broken," He muttered. "Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't the only thing broken," Steve mumbled.

"Man, this just sucks! What did we ever do to those damn Socs? Ok, so we did something, but that was settled, and they've done more stuff to us than we'll ever do to them!" Two-Bit exclaimed. "they just go around looking for fights, and nothing ever happens to them! While over on the east side, we have people getting killed and huge fights, and nobody ever does anything about it!" By that time Two-Bit was out of breath.

"Two-Bit, come on, calm down. Stop talking. We're gonna get you to the hospital," Darry soothed. I could see how desperate he was to calm him down, Two-Bit had tears in his eyes.

"Can you sit up?" Darry questioned. Two-Bit struggled, but finally got him self up. Suddenly, his eyes closed and he fell back onto the ground with a thump. "Two-Bit!" Steve exclaimed. I cringed.

"Two-Bit, come on, wake up!" Steve shook him. Darry stood and grabbed one his arms. "Come on, he _have _to get him in the truck"

Soda, unusually quiet, also stood, and grabbed his other arm. Steve opened the door and turned the keys.

Darry and Soda dragged Two-Bit into the truck. I sprinted to the other side and we squeezed in. It was pretty cramped, but no one seemed to notice. Darry sped down the road, racing towards the hospital.

I think we passed about 6 policemen on the way there, but there was no way he would stop. I'm surprised we didn't get in a high-speed chase.

We finally reached the hospital, and Soda and I were out of the car before it even stopped. We ran through the hospital doors and got the attention of a few nurses.

They put him on a stretcher and rushed him into a room. We tried to get in, but one of the nurses said we weren't aloud back there.

I trudged back to the waiting room, and sat in a hard chair. Steve was holding his head in his hands, while I was tapping my feet. Darry's hands were balled up into fists. Sodapop was sitting there, staring into space.

We sat there, for what seemed like hours, till a doctor came out and talked to us. "Boys, I'm sorry. He might need surgery." I hoped more than anything he wouldn't need surgery. "I need a release form signed."

We had called him mom earlier, and unsurprisingly, she didn't give a rip.

Darry sighed, "Give it here." Darry was about the only guardian Two-Bit had.

The doctor handed him a pen and a piece of paper. He signed it, and leaned back in his chair.

"Thanks. Now, about his injuries," The doctor sighed. My eyes widened. I really didn't want to hear them, but I guess I was going to get told anyway.

"Well, Two-Bit has multiple cuts all over his body, as you have seen. He lost 3 pints of blood; he was lucky to survive. He have given him a blood transfusion." I flinched when he said he was lucky to survive. I hadn't known it was that serious. The doctor continued, "He broke his tibia, and his right humerus and has a severe concussion. If you would like, you may see him now." He pointed to an elevator. "Go up to the third floor and find room 256." I barely understood a word he was saying.

Darry nodded and answered, "Ok, thanks Doc." The doctor turned and walked off. We all stood at the same time and started walking towards the elevator without a word.

We arrived on our floor and walked to the room. We quietly walked in and I heard the steady beeping of the hospital equipment. I heard Two-Bit's quiet breathing. It reminded me of when Johnny was in the hospital, after the church had fallen on top of him.

"Two-Bit, it's us," Soda whispered as we approached him. I must have been pretty dazed this morning, because we seemed even worse now. I could barely recognize him.

He was lying on his back, with his eyes closed. We stepped over him, and he weakly opened his eyes. "Hey guys," He muttered. We stood in horror. I finally spoke for the first time since this morning, "Two-Bit, I'm so glad your ok!"

"Well, I wouldn't say I was ok…" He struggled to put a smirk on his face.

Steve pulled up and asked quietly, "Two-Bit, what happened with those Socs?"

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Sorry it's kind of... Not good.. part of it was written during the Superbowl... and you know the rest.


	3. Chapter 3

_Oh. My. God. This chapter got on my nerves. I can't believe it took me 2 weeks to get 937 words. Stupid writer's block (cure: 80's music). Anyway, thank everyone soooo much for being patient. I'm really sorry for the long wait, but when you can't write, you can't write. Also, when I said that Two-Bit's mom didn't care about him, I was obviously getting her and Johnny's mom mixed up.... So.... I don't really know what to do with her, so she' just going to be OoC... Along with a couple other characters... I hope you enjoy this one!_

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CHAPTER THREE

Two-Bit grimaced as Steve asked him what had happened. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Two-Bit coughed and hoarsely muttered, "Can I tell you later, when I can actually talk?" He coughed again. Steve nodded, shaking slightly, and said "Yes."

Two-Bit's eyes closed again, and we all stood there until he fell asleep. It didn't take much time. Darry and Soda, thankfully, didn't have to work that day.

I was the only one that left the hospital room, and left the others to stay with Two-Bit. I walked through every hall in the hospital, thinking. Once I finally noticed the walls and room numbers seemed familiar, I found my way out of the hospital.

In my content lonesome, I found a bus stop and waited just a couple minutes before the Greyhound bus appeared. I had no idea where I was going, or where I would end up.

I sat in the back of the bus with my head resting on the seat in front of me. I finally felt the urge to get off, and I did.

As I stepped off the bus, cold memories came flooding back to me. I was at the edge of town, just a few blocks away from the cemetery, where Johnny and Dally were buried.

With my eyes on my feet, I started walking in that direction. As I reached the gates, and saw that they were locked. Subconsciously, I found a low section on fence, and jumped it.

I knew the exact spot where my old buddies were buried, side by side. I was careful not to step directly in front of any of the headstones, but in the middle of all of them.

I warily approached the headstones of my deceased friends. They were both very, very small. Dwarfed by the ones resting next to them.

I didn't even notice the tears dripping down my face. I gazed at the heavy slabs of stone before me. One read, "R.I.P. Dallas Winston 1948-1965", and the other, "R.I.P. Johnny Cade 1949-1965". I briefly pictured Two-Bit's headstone sitting there. As I felt the tears starting to run faster, I shook the thought from my head. Two-Bit would be ok. I couldn't lose _another _buddy. If anyone were to die soon, I would make sure I wouldn't know them.

I felt my knees go weak and I collapsed to the ground. I was still crying, though I wasn't exactly sure why. I just kneeled there, staring. Once I could gain my self control back, I wiped the tears from my face and stood. I looked to the gates and noticed a few cars approaching.

I ran to the same spot I had gotten in at and jumped. The top of the fence cut my hand, but I ignored the pain as I saw a man had a key in his hand and he was yelling at me. I was so dazed, I couldn't figure out which way I was going and stumbled to the ground once I got past the first block.

I dragged myself to the close building behind me, and leaned my back on it. I looked up to the sky above me. I noticed the clouds above me, and felt a drop of water fall onto my nose. I brushed it off and looked down at the concrete below.

The ground was cracked and, there was a tiny line of ants, trying to get away form the rain. Those ants probably had an easier life than me. Eat, find food, don't get stepped on. That's all they ever did. They never had to think about their friends or worry about grades. They _ate _their friends.

It began to rain harder and I rose to my feet. I walked on the edge of the sidewalk towards my house. I figured it would take a while to walk that far, so I found another bus. But instead of getting close to home, I stopped at the movie house.

I wasn't even on planning on watching a movie. I just found a bench and sat. I sat there, thinking. I guess I hadn't realized how long I was sitting there when I realized it was dark outside.

I bolted out and towards my house. After all that had happened, Darry might explode if I didn't get home soon. I finally reached my neighborhood, after what seemed like half an hour. I sprinted across the park, briefly glancing at the fountain I had almost been drowned in. I wasn't sure how I wasn't dead tired from running all this way, it's not like I had jogged. I had gone as fast as I could, but wasn't tired.

I reached the house, and almost fell into the door. _Now _I was tired. I stumbled in and across the room. I then fell onto the hard floor. "Ouch," I moaned. Soda was watching some show on the television, and Darry was asleep in his chair. It surprised me how I hadn't waken him up.

Soda laughed, which _did _wake Darry up, and said, "Hey Pony. Where you been?" Here we go again. Darry looked at me, like he was about to ask the same question. I glanced at the clock. 11:30 pm. "All over town…" Darry answered by saying, "Well you missed dinner. Sorry."

"Oh, that's ok. I'm not hungry," I lied. I hadn't eaten _anything _all day.

Before anyone could say a word, I walked off to my room. I lied down on my bed, and unintentionally fell asleep.

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_Yeah.... That was pretty short...... It's 2 am and it was bugging me to put this in, so I had to cut it right there. I'll try to be quicker next time, I promise!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Here it is, finally. This is probably some of the **worst **writing I've done. You have no idea how much I wanted to turn this into a parody... -.- But oh well, because like how the ending... ended up. Thanks, and enjoy!_

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CHAPTER FOUR

When I awakened the next morning, I felt as weak as possible. Sodapop was already awake, apparently, because he wasn't next to me. I figured Darry was already at work, so I stumbled into the kitchen. I couldn't believe how tired I was.

As I searched through the icebox for chocolate cake, I noticed Soda was gone. I looked at the clock in awe. 2:00 pm! I couldn't believe I had slept till two in the afternoon. It also made me feel selfish, because I knew Soda and Darry needed the sleep much more than I did.

I finally peeled my eyes off the clock. I weakly pulled the cake from the icebox and sliced 2 heaping pieces. I had them down in under 5 minutes.

I stretched and made my way to the bathroom, so I could shower. It felt weird with the quietness around here.

When I was finished showering, I trudged to the my room, with the towel around my waist. I quickly got dressed, then alertly walked back to the living room. It just felt unnatural with no one around.

For a minute or two, I thought maybe I should go find some company, but, with the Socs obviously being a threat, I decided not too, for I didn't have a switchblade, or any other way of self defense.

I walked all around the house, trying to think of something to do. I'm always home alone, but I guess I was just having a mind blank. I picked up the phone and dialed random numbers, hung up, and did it again. I did that about 20 times, then picked up the clock of the wall and messed up the time. After I got bored of that, I sat in a chair and tried reading. Got bored of that too. It seemed like everything I did was to boring. It's not like my life is filled with action. I finally decided that I needed some fresh air, even if it was risky.

I glanced at the clock. Oh yeah, I messed the time up. Good thing I had my watch on me. It looked like neither Darry nor Sodapop would be home soon, so I cautiously stepped out the front door and down the street.

At every sound, I would flinch and look behind me. It was usually just a bird chirping or a car driving by, but I couldn't be too careful. I walked aimlessly around the vacant lot, glancing at the dry grass.

Suddenly I saw a flash of brown zip past me. _What the heck, _I thought. My eyes flashed from one thing to the next, and I saw it again. This time I could identify it. _Wow, a squirrel. How terrifyingly scary._

I found a nearby tree and plopped down under it. I ripped grass from the ground so that I could draw in the dirt. I took a stick and subconsciously drew a switchblade, a box of movie popcorn, a fountain, a burning candle, then a grave stone. What was with me and flashbacks these days? I scratched out the pictures and stood. By looking at the sky, I could see that it was already 4:30. This day sure was going by fast. But that could've been because I woke up at two in the afternoon.

I decided I wasn't bored anymore, and walked back to the house. To my surprise, Darry was there.

"You're back early," I said cautiously. "Not really… I get back at six every day, don't I?" He answered, confused. My eyes went wide. Six? Wow, this day was going by faster than I thought possible. I sat down on the couch, and looked at Darry. He looked tired. "Darry," I said slowly, "you should go and rest. All you ever do is work. I can make dinner. But only if you want." The second I said that last sentence, I wanted to take it back. I don't mean that I didn't want to help, but I made it sound like I was absolutely terrified of him. Thankfully, he didn't catch the attentiveness in my voice. Darry was giving me an odd, but pleased look. 'Umm…. Sure," He replied. I grinned slightly and stood. As if it was rehearsed, Sodapop walked in. He had his wide grin on his face. "Hey guys. Steve went up to the hospital to see Two-Bit. What's for dinner?" By this time, Darry was sprawled out on the couch. He glanced at me, while I answered, "Umm… What do you want?" He chuckled. "Oh, I get it. Pone is gonna be considerate and make supper. As for your question, t-bone steak, please." We all laughed.

"How about… Baked chicken?" I suggested. Soda replied with a wide smile and, "You know it!"

I smiled back,-mostly because I could see Darry was actually relaxed for once- and strolled to the kitchen. I started making the chicken. Once I had put it in the oven, I walked back to the living room. Darry rubbed his stomach. "How long?" He asked. "About… Thirty minutes."

"Thirty minutes?!" Soda screeched in a joking tone, then punched Darry in the arm.

Darry punched him back, harder, and in an instant they were rolling around on the floor. Soda couldn't quit laughing, so Darry had the greater advantage. But Darry would have had the advantage anyway. When he heard Sodapop yelp and back off, Darry sprang up. He held out an arm and pulled Soda up. He rubbed his head and exclaimed, "Gah, knock me out Darry!" It was obvious he was kidding, but Darry still apologized.

The oven buzzer went off. "Well I guess not 30 minutes then," I laughed and walked to the kitchen. I carefully took the chicken from the oven and set it on the table. Soda was sitting there before I could blink. "Hungry, are we?" Darry said, and we all ate down to eat.

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_You like it? Yeah, really corny and s_

_pontaneous... I can't believe had to look up if you put baked chicken in the oven...._


	5. Chapter 5

_Here it is! This one's kind of short, but eh, you'll know why when you read it. Oh, and I seem to have forgotten to put a diclaimer on the last chapter. Dx So, yeah... Here is the disclaimer for chapter 4...._

_Disclaimer: Hinton be owning._

_And for this chapter..._

_Disclaimer: I dun own! :D_

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CHAPTER 5

Two-Bit improved greatly in the next few days, and to our relief, he wouldn't need surgery. He could walk on crutches, and besides being stuck in bed all day, he was his normal self. He'd laugh for absolutely no reason every time someone came in the room. The doctor said he could come home in a week.

* * *

The Thursday after the incident, I was walking out of the school, and Cherry Valance came up to me. "So, Two-Bit's in the hospital?" she asked me quietly. _Took you long enough to figure that out, _I thought. "Yeah, but the doctor said he can go in a week." She smiled and answered, "That's good. Nice talking to you, Ponyboy," and she walked off.

I shrugged and thought to myself, _well that was odd. _I walked up to the car and hopped in. "Hey Pony," Sodapop greeted me. "Hi," I greeted back, and Soda speeded out onto the road.

"Why don't we stop by the hospital," Soda suggested. "Might as well," I answered back.

It was a pretty quiet ride, surprisingly. Soda was staring at the road, smiling to himself. I looked out the window, at the passing cars. It seemed to be taking forever to get to the hospital. But, when we _did _get there, it seemed surprisingly empty.

We casually walked into the front doors and there were only a couple people walking around. I eyed the area cautiously and pressed the up button on the elevator.

We reached out floor, stepped out, and discovered where everyone was. There was a "Free Ice Cream" stand right outside the elevator. And there Two-Bit was, sitting on a bench, eating an ice cream cone. We walked up to him. "Hey guys," He smiled. Soda sat down next to him, and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word out, he had vanilla ice cream smashed into his face. We all erupted into laughter, even Soda, who returned the favor by playfully punching Two-Bit in the stomach. Soda wiped the ice cream off, obviously not caring if he had it all over his shirt.

"Come on, let's go back to my room," Two-Bit laughed. We helped him up and we started walking. "So, how you been, Two-Bit?" I asked. He replied with, "Oh, pretty good. My head still hurts, though."

We walked into his room, and we sat down on the bed. I noticed a few screws on the bed-side table. "Umm, Two-Bit, what's with the screws?" I asked skeptically. "I woke up and they were on the floor, like they had rolled from under the bed, why?" He replied, obviously not concerned. Soda and I stood at the exact same time. "What's the big deal?" He questioned. "Well, Two-Bit, did you think, that if you woke up, and there were screws on the floor, right out from under the bed, that some one could have come in here at night and unscrewed the bed?" Soda exclaimed. "Hmm, no, I never did think of that… But who would have done that? If it's that big of a deal, sit in a chair," Two-Bit snapped.

He wasn't lying when he said his head hurt. Two-Bit isn't usually this touchy. Sodapop did exactly what he said and pulled up a chair. "Now, will you tell us what happened with the Socs?" I asked. He shrugged and said, "What's to tell? I'm walking to your house, minding my own business, and these Socs come up in their fancy Mustang, step out, and I just happen to not have a weapon. They beat me up, I lay there dying for ten minutes, and ya'll find me." Soda frowned, "That Mustang, huh? Always the same, isn't it? I don't know why they can't just leave us alone!" He shuffled his feet. I looked down. The people in that blue Mustang were the reason Johnny was dead.

"Well, I guess we better be off, then," Soda said to me. I glanced out the window to see the sun going down. He stood and punched Two-Bit in the arm. "Bye," He laughed. We exchanged farewells and walked off.

We reached the doors and walked into the cold air. It looked like it was about to begin to snow, and it was freezing, so we rushed to the truck. I slammed the door shut and the car revved to a start.

We were already speeding when we came off the curb onto the road. Yes, the curb. Soda went over the curb. Soda apparently saw something funny about this and started laughing. I looked out the window. But I was wrong, Sodapop had another reason for laughing. The truck collided with another car, head on. I screamed in shock, faintly realizing we were on the wrong side of the road. I looked ahead of me, and in front of us, was a crumpled blue Mustang.

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_Ooooo! SUSPENSE! Bet you weren't expecting that! Soda has a vengeance! Haha, and you have to a while till the next chapter.... 2 weeks, 3 weeks tops.... I'm kinda working on another project... Anyhow, please comment!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Ok.... So that was 4 weeks. -.- Sorry. After not writing for a long time, and then trying to think of ideas, it's just..... Hard. So, um... Yeah. Hope you enjoy it. :D_

_Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders_

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CHAPTER 6

What was only 2 seconds seemed to last for hours. The worst pain imaginable engulfed my entire body as I realized the car was still moving against the Mustang.

I opened my mouth to scream, but instead I saw my life flash before me. _Oh, God, no I can't die now. Come on! I can't die! _The whole world went black.

_-----------------_

I woke uphot, dark, confined room. _Oh God. I'm in Hell._ My eyes blinked open and I sighed with relief. (Well, I tried to sigh, but I just kind of choked for some reason.)

My vision was blurred, but I could see a doctor standing above me. I also saw a familiar face. "Darry?" I whispered. I tried to move my arm, but something was stopping me. "Ponyboy! You're ok!" he exclaimed. "What happened?" I moaned. "Where's Soda?" The doctor nodded to Darry, and walked out of the room. "You probably remember, this, but, you and Soda got in a huge car wreck. They don't know exactly what caused it." _I bet I do, _I answered to myself. "The people in the other car only got a few bruises and a wrecked car. Which is odd, because you were in the truck, and they were in a Mustang... You just broke a couple ribs and your arm." He paused for a minute and looked at the floor, then back at me. "Pony, they don't know if Sodapop will make it."

I stared at him in disbelief. I would be a complete wreck for the rest of my existence if Soda died. Darry understood, he obviously felt the same way as me. He patted me on the shoulder and said in a shaky voice, "But let's not think about that." I nodded, and tried my hardest not to think about it. I shoved it to the back of my mind and reopened my eyes. Darry was sitting in the chair beside where I was laying. He had a blank look on his face. "So…" I said. "Only an arm and 2 ribs, huh? Guess I'm lucky." Darry nodded, completely spaced out. I guess we both were. I looked at the opened door and noticed a picture of a Christmas tree taped to it. I hadn't realized how late in the year it was.

Every Christmas, we each got one present, and if we're lucky, something from a friend. Every Christmas morning, Soda would run screaming like a little kid to the living room. Darry and I would laugh, and Steve, Dally, and Johnny would all come over. Two-Bit stayed with his family on Christmas.

I blinked my eyes as I realized something. This was the first Christmas Johnny or Dally wouldn't be there. I wondered what it would be like, then glanced at Darry. He was still staring at the wall. Then I wondered what it would be like with Sodapop. I wondered what my whole life would be like without Sodapop.

"So… Why don't you go to Soda's room?" I dared. "They won't let me in," Darry replied simply. "Oh," I whispered.

The doctor walked in silently. "I'm going to put some pain medication in your IV." I nodded and looked down at my hand. I hadn't even noticed the mass of tape on my hand.

The pain medicine stung. I ignored it and decided to sleep…

* * *

I woke up, with absolutely no sense of time. I looked at the window, but the were covered so much I couldn't see. Darry wasn't in the room anymore. I wondered where he could of gone.

My legs ached to stand. I had been in bed for however long I had been asleep. I figured I shouldn't though, in case the doctors didn't want me to for some odd reason.

I wondered what hospital I was in. I figured I was probably in the charity one, the same one Two-Bit was in.

This was confirmed when I heard the sound of crutches hitting the floor and looked up to see Two-Bit entering the room. "Hey!" he exclaimed. I returned his greeting, still a bit dazed. Two-Bit stared at me in astonishment, as if he couldn't believe it. I didn't blame him.

"Hey Two-Bit…. What day is it?" I asked. He gave me an odd look and answered, "You _are _out of it. Friday, I do believe." I nodded. I assumed it was around 5 when I fell asleep the day before.

For once, Two-Bit had a serious and concerned look on his face. There was a long, awkward silence before Two-Bit said anything. "So… I sure hope Soda makes it." _No __**way**__, _I thought. "Yeah, me too, me too," I answered back.

Two-Bit and I talked for a while, and I finally asked if Steve had dropped by. Two-Bit simply said, "I don't know, I haven't seen him in a couple days." I nodded, and we continued our conversation.

Suddenly, over the hospital intercom, the words "code blue" sounded. I heard footsteps rushing down the hall, just five seconds after. I wondered what code blue could mean. Two-Bit shrugged and said, "Hmm, I guess someone's dying." I almost had to grin at these words. He said it like it was no big deal at all.

But then reality struck me. What if Soda was dying? I jumped up out of the bed and cringed in pain. "Two-Bit, we have to go see who it is. _Now_." Two-Bit seemed a bit taken back. "Umm… Ok?" He answered and I began limping towards the door. It hurt to move, because of my broken ribs. I stuck my head out the door and followed all of the nurses and doctors down the hallway. We tracked them down the stairs, and down another hallway. (Well, I should say I tracked them, because I was going as fast as I could and Two-Bit was on crutches.)

He had gone down 3 flights of stairs till the hospital people turned into a room. Even as fast as I was going, I was far behind them.

Suddenly, Darry burst out of the room. "Ponyboy! Hurry!" As I got closer to him, I could see his eyes were watering. "It's Sodapop! He's dying!"

* * *

_DUN-DUN-DUH-NUN! Surprised you, didn't I? The end was incredibly hard to write, so it may sound like... Really corny. Like... Really. I hate how I worded that. But I cannot think of any other way to imply this.... I'm not good at emotinal scenes._


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders_

_Hello all. Thank you all so very much for posting comments and such. Very very much. I bet you've all been waiting for this chapter. ***WARNING* **This is a very, very, emotional chapter. If you can't take that, I suggest you don't read. It almost made **ME **cry, and I couldn't even cry during the actual movie. _

* * *

CHAPTER SEVEN

Darry and I bolted in the room. As I rushed over to Sodapop, I could see his face was completely white. He had bruises all over his arms and legs. I ran up to the bed and spoke softly, "Soda?" He didn't respond. Darry quickly started explaining, as Two-Bit walked into the room.

"He broke his spine, and he had surgery. Last night he got a fever, and they tested him for a bunch of different diseases. It turns out he has bacterial meningitis." I could see how close he was to crying. "But doesn't it take months for them to know?" I asked, scared. "Apparently not," Darry answered softly. I nodded.

Soda breaths were fast and short, like he couldn't get enough oxygen. I glanced around the room, and there were doctors all around. They were looking at all these different papers, and talking in a hushed, urgent tone. I looked at his face, and whispered his name again, but he didn't respond. I held my breath, silently praying that he would live.

I glanced at Two-Bit, and his face was about as white as Soda's. I kept listening to the ECG monitor, and I kept tricking myself into thinking that the beeping was getting slower and slower.

The nurses and doctors were rushing all around the room, not even seeming to notice us. They were putting all kinds of medicine in him through shots and his IV.

Then what we were all hoping for happened. Sodapop's eyes slowly opened. I thought for a second it was some reaction to one of the medications they had given him. "SODAPOP!" Two-Bit, Darry, and I all screamed at the same moment. The hospital staff looked pretty happy too. He weakly smiled at us. "Hey guys, miss me?"

From the look on his face, I could see Two-Bit was about ready to punch him in the face for scaring us. Darry hugged Soda's head till he couldn't breath. "Whoa there, big guy," Soda gasped. Darry jumped back and apologized.

I was still terrified, and I think we all realized that Soda was still not to far from dead. His face was still pale as when we had walked in the room, and even just 4 words made him run out of breath.

A woman in white clothes walked up to us. I figured she was a nurse. "The doctor wants to talk to you," she said, and beckoned for us to follow her. Darry told Sodapop that we'd be right back, and we started walking out of the room.

Out in the hall, there was a doctor. The nurse walked away and the doctor walked towards us. He spoke in a soft tone, as if he was trying to calm us or something.

"As you probably know, Sodapop is still in very great danger. And, by the looks by it, he probably won't make it through the night. I would spend as much time with him as you can today. We gave him pain medication and… Sleeping medicine."

I blinked. I knew he was bad off, but, I didn't know he wouldn't make it through the night!

Darry nodded to the doctor and thanked him for telling us. Two-Bit sighed. "I'll go call Steve," he muttered, and walked down the hall. Darry and I walked back into Sodapop's room. Darry pulled a chair beside Soda and sat down. "Is everything okay?"" Soda asked. "Well, I mean besides all this…" Darry opened his mouth to say something, but instead, Soda answered himself. "Yeah, I know." Darry didn't look surprised. "Two-Bit is calling Steve. I don't think he knows much about this whole thing." Sodapop tried to nod his head, but he flinched when he did.

Two-Bit limped in the room. He had abandoned his crutches somewhere. "He's on his way," he murmured, then he came over and stood against the wall. Everyone was completely astonished. I wished the doctor would have not told us. I mean, seriously, how insensitive can you be? Tell someone that their brother's about to die? And then telling the brother that he's going to die? I'm sure that's what everyone wants to hear.

Soda tried talking to us, but he couldn't even finish a sentence without running out of breath. After 30 minutes of failing to communicate, Steve ran through the doorway. "Well that was fast," coughed Soda "Soda! You're alive- I mean… Um," Steve stuttered. "He knows," Darry groaned, staring at the floor. Steve sighed, and took in the moment. The room was completely quiet, the doctors weren't even in the room anymore. I guess they thought it was useless.

After knowing Sodapop for so long, I could tell that his eyes were closing more and his breaths were getting slower every minute. It looked like we all wanted to say something, but we didn't. Darry sat there, his arms rapped around Soda's torso, like he wouldn't let him go.

I would have bawled, but my mind was clouded with furiousness. How could those doctors just leave him here to die? I mean, couldn't they at least try _something? _I mean, I know that they gave him pain medication and stuff, but, why do they just give up?

I waited and waited… And didn't know what I was waiting for. I was waiting for a miracle, that's it. A miracle. I would have given Soda my life, so he wouldn't have to die, if I could.

My miracle didn't come. I don't think any of us had to say our goodbyes to Sodapop; he knew how much we would miss him. And in a blink of an eye, his eyes closed completely, and the room was completely silent, except the sound of the ECG monitor. "Beep, beep, beeeeeeep"

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_GreaserGirlHeart14, as you can clearly see, I'm a rule breaker. Hope you all enjoyed!.... Though you probably didn't... Oh well.... And yes, I know that it DOES infact take waayyy more than 2 days to diagnose meningitis. Trust, me, I know. I had it.... But that's the only reason I could think of. Because, well, if he didn't instantly die from the car wreck, then how could he die? _


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